From that point, the party was...well, a party. It was slightly surreal, seeing it all from inside a lobster tank, but the conversation seemed fairly normal. Once you accounted for all the discussions of magic and such. His parents were apparently extremely happy with Kat's spell to have him respawn in his room, alleviating some of their fears about their child's time as an animal. His mother, father, and even Kat would occasionally turn slightly and address him in the conversation. He found that, particularly for his non-magical father, he had to speak up quite a bit to be heard through the water and the tank, but they were quite patient. His father, however, was unwilling to let him go entirely without a little fatherly ribbing. The man sighed dramatically at one point, winking to show he was joking.
"Really, though, son, a lobster? You couldn't have been a nice dog to keep your old man company on his jogs, or something?"
"Harold!" his wife said, with a smile but a warning tone, "Nobody picks their spirit animal, it's part of who they are."
His mother turned to him then, smiling sweetly.
"I think you're a very handsome lobster, sweety. Such a beautiful tail, too!"
Harold chuckled.
"Nobody picks it, huh? You're sure it's not because you were craving lobster when you were pregnant with him? I distinctly remember you wolfing down an awful lot of lobster tails..."
"Harold!" his wife cried, before balling up a napkin and throwing it at him over their daughter's head. Harold merely chuckled, then half-turned to face his son in the tank behind him.
"But seriously, Dan, I want you to know how much we care about you being comfortable as a shifter - I know your mom and I eat a lot of lobster, but we'll stop if it weirds you out now."
Dan felt a bit embarrassed by the attention, and failed to notice Kat looking at him very carefully. He waved his pincer claw soothingly.
"No, no, Dad, it's fine, you and Mom can still eat, you know, as much as you want. It's not like I'm *always* a lobster - heh, besides, lobsters eat other lobsters. Heck, maybe we should have it more often," he finished with a slight note of trepidation in his voice.
In fact, the distortion of the tank and water, not to mention how raspy his voice had become since moving to gills, meant that his tone was entirely lost on his parents, who concluded their son was in fact fully encouraging them to eat more lobster as a family. Kat, however, was looking for the right cues, and realized her brother was far from settled on that idea, and was probably suggesting it more from nerves than anything. 'But he's said it, now...this is going to be fun.' His mother merely beamed.
"Oh, Dan, I'm so proud of you. How about Lobster Fridays? Every Friday night I'll make us a lobster dish."
Kat smiled slightly, as Dan paled - not that his parents could tell, through the distortion of his changes and the tank.
"Well, Mom, I like that idea - but what if Dan or I have plans on Friday nights? I have a date this Friday, for instance. But I still like the idea of the family getting together for some juicy lobster on that night."
Dan eyed Kat nervously, beginning to suspect she was enjoying this. Their mother merely shrugged.
"Well, I don't see any reason why we couldn't still have it, then, if neither of you would mind. Maybe it would encourage you two to stay home more!" she said with a wink.
Kat nodded, smiling, and turned to Dan. Dan gulped. He could tell by the look in her eyes: she hadn't forgotten his little query about getting eaten.
'Oh, oh fuck,' Dan thought, 'she's gonna do it, she's gonna figure out a way to get them to eat me! Oh, fuck why did I ask that...and I can't tell them she's doing it, or she'll tell them I asked! I'd die of embarrassment!'
A brief widening of her grin indicated to Dan that Kat had worked it out, too.
At this point, a waiter came by to refresh their waters, and he looked askance at the tank. Specifically, he focused on Dan's claws. He leaned in and coughed gently.
"I'm sorry, sir, but if you're going to be, er, in the tank, I'm afraid we'll need to get some rubber bands for your claws."
Dan's mother practically squawked.
"Excuse me?! That is my son!"
"Easy, Gwen-" said his father before the waiter calmly interrupted.
"Of course madame, and he is an honored guest - but he's also a guest specifically in the tank. We bind the lobsters' claws to prevent them hurting one another. I'm afraid sir's unbanded claws are making the other lobsters uneasy; see how they've all moved to one end of the tank?"
Dan glanced back, having grown distracted, and sure enough the lobsters had all congregated at one end, facing him. They were beginning to bump into each other, and were clearly growing more agitated. He felt mortified.
"I'm afraid if we don't bind his claws, they'll all think he's a threat, and with them bunching up that way they're sure to get into a scuffle. While their claws are bound, they can still use them as clubs. If it helps, madame, think of it this way: if sir were at the tables, we would insist on a suit coat and tie; in the tank, we insist on bands."
Dan's mother was clearly unhappy with that, but sighed.
"I suppose you're right...I'm sorry, Dan, it's decorum. We've already tinkered with their minds with magic once, doing it more risks greater consequences. Do you mind...?"
Dan minded a great deal - with bands on his claws, he'd look just like the other lobsters! Well. Except for his mostly human head and size. Strangely that didn't help much. Still, he felt pressed, especially with Kat eyeing him in that oh-so-very catlike way of hers. He tucked his tail in, and sighed.
"...no, I don't mind..."
His parents looked relieved, Kat had that 'I've got you now' look again, and the waiter merely nodded professionally. He walked off and returned shortly wearing large rubber gloves up to his elbows, and a rubber apron, with the blue rubber bands in one hand. Before Dan knew what was happening, the waiter had reached into the tank with one of those long gloves and hauled him up halfway out of the water.
"Heavens, sir is quite a hefty lobster; very distinguished, sir," the waiter said while deftly binding his claws.
It was surreal. The waiter spoke to him like a guest, but was definitely handling him like...well...like a lobster the size of a 16-year-old boy. Once the bands were on, the waiter unceremoniously released him back into the tank, then went about his day. His parents had turned to conversation with other people, apparently trying to take the attention off his situation. But Kat was paying perfect attention. As Dan sank back to the bottom of the tank, and the now calmed lobsters scuttled across the tank past him, he caught her eye. She leaned in, whispering telepathically.
"Look at you...almost just like them, is that what you're thinking? But you and I both know that's not true...you *are* just like them, deep down...you like this."
Dan went wide-eyed, started to shake his head.
"Shh. No no, don't try anything...I'll tell Mom and Dad all about your...kitchen desires, if you do. What WOULD they think of you then, little brother...?"
Dan froze, terror and arousal gripping him. He gulped, and nodded. Kat grinned wide.
"Oh, this is going to be delicious...and I bet you will be too, don't you, Dan...?"